WPOW (FM)
Encyclopedia
WPOW is a Rhythmic top 40 station serving the Miami
-Ft. Lauderdale
area. The Beasley Broadcast Group
owns the station, which operates at 96.5 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 98 kilowatts and is licensed in Miami, Florida
. Its transmitter is located in Miami
.
format in April 1979 (Disco 96), but returned to its prior Top 40 format in November of that year.
The station lost its license and signed off on February 15, 1981. The last song played before sign-off was "The Long And Winding Road" by the Beatles. The last words, spoken on-air by the DJ, Stuart Elliott (who was audibly upset) were "96X..Is WMJX, Miami"
On June 15, 1985, the station was brought back on the air under new ownership (Wodlinger Broadcasting) as a non-stop Top 40 countdown station (The Super 16) under the same 96X name, this time with the call letters WCJX. The Program Director was Jon Holiday, who evolved the station to a more traditional CHR format. However, after another ownership change in May 1986 (from Wodlinger Broadcasting to Beasley-Reed Broadcasting), they would change format on August 4, 1986 at 7 a.m., when the station flipped to a Dance Top 40 format under the name Power 96 (with a change in call letters to WPOW), playing mostly dance, freestyle music
and early rap. Power 96 embraced the regionally blossoming Miami bass
sound as well, mixing it into their playlist. The name Power 96 was the idea of new owner/General Manager Greg Reed.
The station began as Power 96 with the call letters on August 4, 1986, a dance top 40, and it became the top station in its format in Winter 1987. Power 96 continues its dominant ratings position.
The founding general manager, Greg Reed, was originally a part-owner of Beasley-Reed Broadcasting. Later Reed sold his share of the station to Beasley Broadcast Group, but remained as Vice-President and General manager. The original programming team - Program Director Bill Tanner, Music Director Colleen Cassidy and consultant Jerry Clifton, continue to consult Power 96.
Power 96 DJs include morning host Lazaro Mendes "DJ Laz", co-host Afrika, midday host Ivy, afternoon host Lucy (Lopez), and the night show is hosted by JP & DJ Def, also known as Dos Gordos. Past personalities include the late Bo Griffin, Don Cox and Cramer Haas along with Mindy Frumkes, Mark Moseley, Dennis Reese, Joe Nasty, Robert W. Walker, Gino Latino, Tony the Tiger, "Little Laz" Prieto, Eric Ward, Baby Bree, and in the early days, former I-95/WINZ-FM music director Mark "In The Dark" Shands, who also served as Power 96's assistant program director.
Power 96 is now managed by Beasley's Miami market manager Joe Bell. The present program director, Tom Calococci, arrived in August, 2006 from KKBT, The Beat in Los Angeles, and had previously programmed top stations Houston, Dallas, and Baltimore. Previous program directors included Kim (Kid) Curry, Frank Walsh and Tony The Tiger.
In an era where several competitors carry mostly syndicated programming Power 96 continues to be live and local with a mix of urban, hip-hop and pop rhythmic music. The Power 96 audience continues to reflect the South Florida population - Hispanic, Caucasian and African-American.
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
-Ft. Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
area. The Beasley Broadcast Group
Beasley Broadcast Group
Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. , based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. As of January 2011, the company owned 17 AM stations and 28 FM stations. -History:...
owns the station, which operates at 96.5 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 98 kilowatts and is licensed in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. Its transmitter is located in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
.
History
In the early 1970s, the 96.3 signal was home to a Top 40 CHR station, known as 96 WMYQ (the successor to WGBS-FM, then WJHR), which became 96X (and a call letter change to WMJX) on October 1, 1975. The station briefly changed to an all-discoDisco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
format in April 1979 (Disco 96), but returned to its prior Top 40 format in November of that year.
The station lost its license and signed off on February 15, 1981. The last song played before sign-off was "The Long And Winding Road" by the Beatles. The last words, spoken on-air by the DJ, Stuart Elliott (who was audibly upset) were "96X..Is WMJX, Miami"
On June 15, 1985, the station was brought back on the air under new ownership (Wodlinger Broadcasting) as a non-stop Top 40 countdown station (The Super 16) under the same 96X name, this time with the call letters WCJX. The Program Director was Jon Holiday, who evolved the station to a more traditional CHR format. However, after another ownership change in May 1986 (from Wodlinger Broadcasting to Beasley-Reed Broadcasting), they would change format on August 4, 1986 at 7 a.m., when the station flipped to a Dance Top 40 format under the name Power 96 (with a change in call letters to WPOW), playing mostly dance, freestyle music
Freestyle music
Freestyle or Latin freestyle, sometimes referred to as Latin hip hop, is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1980s. Mostly popular during the mid 80s to the early 90s...
and early rap. Power 96 embraced the regionally blossoming Miami bass
Miami bass
Miami bass , is a type of hip hop music, that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Its roots are directly linked to the Electro-funk sound of the early 1980s, pioneered by Afrika Bambataa & The Soulsonic Force and later on by UK-based musician Paul Hardcastle...
sound as well, mixing it into their playlist. The name Power 96 was the idea of new owner/General Manager Greg Reed.
The station began as Power 96 with the call letters on August 4, 1986, a dance top 40, and it became the top station in its format in Winter 1987. Power 96 continues its dominant ratings position.
The founding general manager, Greg Reed, was originally a part-owner of Beasley-Reed Broadcasting. Later Reed sold his share of the station to Beasley Broadcast Group, but remained as Vice-President and General manager. The original programming team - Program Director Bill Tanner, Music Director Colleen Cassidy and consultant Jerry Clifton, continue to consult Power 96.
Power 96 DJs include morning host Lazaro Mendes "DJ Laz", co-host Afrika, midday host Ivy, afternoon host Lucy (Lopez), and the night show is hosted by JP & DJ Def, also known as Dos Gordos. Past personalities include the late Bo Griffin, Don Cox and Cramer Haas along with Mindy Frumkes, Mark Moseley, Dennis Reese, Joe Nasty, Robert W. Walker, Gino Latino, Tony the Tiger, "Little Laz" Prieto, Eric Ward, Baby Bree, and in the early days, former I-95/WINZ-FM music director Mark "In The Dark" Shands, who also served as Power 96's assistant program director.
Power 96 is now managed by Beasley's Miami market manager Joe Bell. The present program director, Tom Calococci, arrived in August, 2006 from KKBT, The Beat in Los Angeles, and had previously programmed top stations Houston, Dallas, and Baltimore. Previous program directors included Kim (Kid) Curry, Frank Walsh and Tony The Tiger.
In an era where several competitors carry mostly syndicated programming Power 96 continues to be live and local with a mix of urban, hip-hop and pop rhythmic music. The Power 96 audience continues to reflect the South Florida population - Hispanic, Caucasian and African-American.